Few Speckled Trout, Redfish Left When Lake Pontchartrain Spillway Opened

The January opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on Lake Pontchartrain didn’t have a lot of impacts on speckled trout and redfish in the lake, according to The Times-Picayune. Though it was thought that the fish might be forced to leave Pontchartrain, it turns out that most of them stuck around.

Only two of more than 50 trout and redfish tagged by scientists actually left, say officials with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. And throughout the 22-day opening of the spillway, though the movements of the fish were impacted, the two fish that did leave ended up coming back.

Wildlife researchers were able to follow along as the fish shifted their locations, sometimes in clear waters and other times right smack in the middle of sediment plumes released when the spillway opened. Tracking the fish throughout the opening, scientists hope, could help understand the impacts that future openings could have on Lake Pontchartrain’s fish.

Top image: Researchers are looking at the fish dispersal after opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway on Lake Pontchartrain. (Credit: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries)

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